EXCITED BY THE IRON CHALLENGE

13 October 2014

Alex Renshaw

New Iron boss Mark Robins has expressed his delight after being unveiled as the club’s new manager on Monday afternoon.

Members of the local and national press were invited over to Glanford Park for Robins’ first press conference since his appointment, during which he and chairman Peter Swann were asked questions by those present.

Robins is pleased to have been given the chance to take the reins at United and admits he was encouraged by the team’s performance away at Gillingham over the weekend.

He said: “First and foremost I’m delighted.

“I went to the game on Saturday and had a good look at what the players are capable of and I was encouraged, there’s no doubt about that.

“I think both Andy (Dawson) and Tony Daws have handled the situation brilliantly and I thought the players stepped up and got a really good win because Gillingham is always a difficult place to go to.

“Not only that, I thought they controlled the game and passed the ball well too so it gives me real encouragement.”

The 44-year-old will have an abundance of experience to call upon during his time with the Iron having represented the likes of Manchester United, Norwich City and Leicester City in a professional playing career which lasted almost 20 years.

He later moved into coaching and became manager of Rotherham United before taking charge of Barnsley and Coventry City and has been out of work since leaving Championship side Huddersfield Town in early August but stated that the opportunity to manage Scunthorpe was too good to turn down.

“The call came on Wednesday afternoon and unfortunately in these circumstances, somebody’s got to lose a job for you to gain a job,” he continued.

“Russ did a great job last season getting the team promoted and he’s recruited some good players so I wish him all the best.

“I’m not close to Russ but I do know him and he’ll bounce back and go on to other things but that gives me an opportunity and the opportunity was too good to turn down.

“A lot is happening at Scunthorpe with the chairman’s plans, the new stadium and the new training ground.

“I think the existing playing staff may need a little bit of help, I’m not talking about numbers coming in because there’s quite big numbers here anyway and it’s exciting times.

“The first thing we’ve got to do is make sure that the structure is right, the staffing structure is right and the playing squad is as fit as they possibly can be going into the upcoming games.

“We know in the Football League that the games come thick and fast and it’s a real test of the squad. There’s been some injuries to key players and you can’t afford the number of injuries that they’ve had here at any level and that always causes problems so we’ve got to make sure that we get as many players back as fit as possible and on the pitch as often as we possibly can do to give ourselves every chance.”

With the Iron currently placed 23rd in the League One table, Robins understands that his first objective will be to pick up enough points to help the club rise up the division.

He also hopes to be able to achieve that in a way that will excite the fans during the course of the campaign.

Robins added: “Every job is a challenge and it’s a different challenge but having said that, the aim is still to pick points up.

“We’ve got to work hard but I want everybody to enjoy it. I want everybody to enjoy where we will get to.

“My role will change and evolve over the period of time but first and foremost, we’ve got to get enough points on the board to steer clear of any danger and at the same time try and do it in a way that’s going to excite the supporters.

“I think that’s key and eventually it’ll happen. I’m hoping that the players will give me everything that they can do.

“Some might fall short and there might be one or two shortfalls. There might be one or two incomings and that’ll depend on what the players give me from now until when I decide that the time is right to make a move in the market.”

See much more from Mark Robins and Peter Swann on our YouTube channel.